Lace
by AsymptoticallyBounded
Summary: Bella is happy with her life, her friends, and her family. She doesn't need any trouble. But when she and Alice embark on their latest project, they just can't seem to avoid it. T only because I feel like it. ALL HUMAN. Previously Untouchable Face
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Recognizable characters and themes belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

"Bella! Get your ass down here!"

Sighing, I dragged myself off my bed to the top of the stairwell and looked down to see my best friend, Alice, glaring at me with venom. In her hands were at least ten different shopping bags, filled to the brim with intimidating lace. Intimidating PINK lace.

"Alice, I don't know what you're planning to do with that lace, but I do know that I am NOT going to be involved!" I whisper-yelled down the stairs. "Besides, my parents are ASLEEP. Don't wake them up."

"Bella, Bella, Bella. What am I going to do with you? Don't you know- I am always prepared! Your parents left ten minutes ago for work; it's already eight-thirty! And not all of this lace is for you. The pink is mine! There's blue in the bottom of the bags. Come down already!"

Grudgingly, I acquiesced and shuffled down the stairs, pulling my hair back into a messy bun. I really hated Alice sometimes.

Downstairs, Alice had an eggie-in-the-basket **(It's a way to cook eggs- take a piece of bread, cut out a hole, and fry an egg in it.) **waiting for me, along with some toast and orange juice. I really loved Alice sometimes.

"So Alice. Are you even going to explain the lace? Or am I supposed to guess?"

"Oh! I forgot! See, I'm applying for this full-tuition scholarship at Devigns- I have to create an entire line, all focused on one idea. I have to design, make, and use each item during this last semester and provide photos for proof."

I nodded. That made sense. Devigns School of Fashion was Alice's personal form of self-actualization. It was the culmination of every goal she had ever held in life, and she had finally been accepted. Unfortunately, it cost around $52,000 a year, not including room and board.

"But why the lace? Are you trying for a see-through effect?" I snorted into my juice. I always found my jokes funny. Others? Not so much.

Alice glared at me and mopped away some of the juice I had spilled. Oops.

"No, but I am focusing on lace. I'm trying to approach this with a sense of delicacy and strength. Lace always gives off such a fragile aura, yet it's because of the intricate patterns that it's so strong. I want to use it to show how women can be both vulnerable and strong." Alice was gesturing wildly, almost hitting the frying pan off of the stove. I smirked as my friend grew more and more excited. I was proud of Alice. She was intelligent, beautiful, and powerful, yet she was the most… exposed person I had ever met. She let herself feel every emotion to its fullest extent, yet she was still optimistic and innocent. This project was going to be wonderful. _That_ I could immediately tell.

"So how do I come into all of this? Don't tell me you need me to sew for you again!" At this, Alice and I burst out laughing, remembering the last time I had tried to help her with the sewing. Somehow I ended up not only with a bloody finger, but had managed to attach my own sleeve to the cloth. I had avoided sewing machines ever since that incident.

"Didn't you hear me? I need to USE the items as well! I can't very well hold a fashion show in the gym; no one would appreciate it fully. So we're going to be casual models! I need at least twenty pieces. If we start now, we can have one outfit a week, finally and spectacularly ending with our Prom dresses!"

"Alice, you know how I feel about lace…" I whined. Alice looked at me sternly.

"Yes, I also knew how you supposedly felt about brussel sprouts, and look how that turned out! You love them!"

I rolled my eyes and gave up. I knew better than to argue with Alice. She was almost like a pit bull in the way she would latch on to something and refuse to let go. This was certainly going to be an interesting semester.

**Well, this is my first attempt at Fanfiction. Hope you guys like it! Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns whatever you recognize.**

It was raining.

The last day of my Christmas Break, and it was _raining_. And I was buying lace.

I knew it was basically my fault. If I hadn't mentioned our lack of a white Christmas, Alice probably wouldn't have realized that she wanted to accent this week's outfit with white lace. Then we would never have noticed our monochromatic stock, and I wouldn't be on my way to the store to buy more lace. I really was all to blame. My. Fault.

I didn't even know we had a "lace store." Who sets up a store just to sell one type of cloth? I could understand a fabric store or a craft store, but just lace? If that wasn't obsessive, I didn't know what was. And why lace? I hated lace- it reminded me of itchy underwear and smelly great-aunts.

I almost missed the shop due to my inward rambling.

I parked my truck in one of the 10 minute spots- wishful thinking on my part. I hoped that I wouldn't have to spend more than 5 minutes in this… place. After soaking myself while running through the rain, I made under the awning of the store. I glanced at the sign- "Lizzie's Lace." Nice alliteration, _Lizzie_. Finally, I took a deep breath and opened the door.

So. Much. Color.

The walls were exploding. Everywhere I looked, there was some kind of lace falling off the shelves. There were neons, pastels, earth tones, and primary colors. This place had more colors than a color wheel! I could see why Alice liked the shop so much. It was delicious!

Slightly giddy, I began to glance around for the shades Alice had requested. Off-white, Robin-blue, Blush… I had wondered why they bothered with such randomly specific names, but one look around and it made sense. White… Off-white… Where were you? Where, where, where- Oh!

I looked up to see a wall of white lace with every shade imaginable (and unimaginable). Luckily for me, each type had a nice little name-card tagged under its respective shelf. I scanned the rows and realized that MY Off-white was on the very top shelf… Dammit.

Giving a grunt, I jumped, trying to reach just one spool… and fell back laceless. I knew that the flimsy shelves couldn't hold my weight- what to do? I glanced around looking for a stool and spotted an old folding chair. That would do nicely! No one seemed to be around; the absentee clerk surely wouldn't mind if I borrowed the chair for just a moment! I looked around a final time, then dragged the chair under the shelf and climbed onto the seat. Still. Couldn't. Reach. Slowly I rolled onto my toes and-

CRACK! I felt myself falling and I grabbed the only thing I could think of- the lace spools, which came crashing down with me. I braced myself for the inevitable impact but landed on one of the lace dummies instead.

I lay there for a moment, nursing my bruised pride, when I heard the dummy give off a soft groan. I jumped up and looked down to realize it was no dummy! Dammit, I had landed on the clerk!

"Oh, shit, I am so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I should know better than to mess with gravity, shit, I'm so sorry, are you hurt?" I rambled on as I started picking up the spilled spools, finally unearthing a very rumpled human.

"Relax, it's fine, really. Let me get those," said the dummy- I mean clerk- as he started taking the spools from my hands. Blushing, I finally looked up to see the person I had squashed.

Double shit.

Did he have to be cute?

"I-I-I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" I repeated again, inwardly cursing my stuttering. I stole another look at the guy's face. His eyes were so _green_. They had to be contacts. Seriously. With messy bronze hair. How much time did he spend getting ready in the morning? Jeez.

As if he could read my thoughts, the guy smirked and took the rest of the lace from my hands.

"I'm fine- my arm might bruise, but it'll be gone in a day or two. You? And how much of this did you actually want?"

I blushed even more at the mention of bruises. I really didn't want to have hurt him. Then I realized his question.

"Oh, just two spools. Sorry I messed up your lace."

"Really, it's fine. They needed dusting anyway." He gave a small chuckle and started re-shelving the lace. Without a stool. Dang, he was tall…

"So, do you need help reaching anything else? Or is this it?"

I gave him a small smile. "I think I've pushed my luck as it is in the lace department. My friend really only needs this right now anyway."

"Ok then, I'll ring you up."

Shyly, I followed him to the front register. After I paid for the spools, he put them in a bag and handed them to me. Then a question occurred to me.

"Are you new around here?"

He gave me a strange look, but seemed about to answer. Then I noticed the flashing red and blue lights outside the shop.

"Dammit! My truck!" I raced outside in the rain, only to find a little white ticket already stuck to the windshield. Grumbling, I climbed inside the cab, slammed the door and started back home. I had just reached my driveway when I remembered the green-eyed clerk.

**There you go! Another chapter. I'm going to try to update as often as I can, but I'm currently cramming for AP tests, so it might not be extremely often. I'm also not much of a fashionista, so if anyone has any ideas for lace outfits, feel free to suggest. I will listen! Otherwise, I'm not planning on going into huge detail with the outfits. I'm thinking of focusing on the actual plot, not the weekly outfits. They're going to be more of a background. :D Thanks for reading!**


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